Arbitrary early choices can rigidify into standards that defeat better alternatives

Evidence

This implies that history matters in the sense that historical paths once chosen, even by coincidence, then rigidify and dominate future developments. A famous example of technological path dependence is the often-quoted QWERTY phenomenon of the typewriter keyboard. The typewriter keyboard arrangement solved a temporary mechanical problem on one of the first typewriters. But it soon became the standard for generations to come, even though it has been considered by many to be inefficient and other, potentially better, solutions were available (David, 1985; Arthur, 1994). — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 912

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts usefully with the Milgram/Champagne Fairs material on how institutions restore information: here feedback locks in a worse solution rather than a better one. — connects to: Conventions are arbitrary practices that coordinate choices where several options are equally viable — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 119
• CANDY: The QWERTY story is a classic elevator-conversation fact: your keyboard layout is a frozen accident.